A Mississippi construction firm delivered the lowest bid to build a 100-vault mausoleum at the Key West Cemetery, saying it can deliver the new crypts for $225,200 within 180 days, according to a city staff memo.

Three bids came in for the project on Jan. 9. Ingram Construction, of Madison, Miss., was by far the lowest bidder for the new crypts that will run along the back of the existing mausoleum at 819 Olivia St.

D.N. Higgins, of Ann Arbor, Mich., was the second lowest at $369,100, for a total lump bid, giving an alternate bid of $321,700. JMW Construction of Boynton Beach, Fla., put in a $485,000 bid.

The City Commission is set to decide the bid award at its 6 p.m. Tuesday meeting at Old City Hall, 510 Greene St.

The resolution is part of the consent agenda, a list of items for approval that the commission votes on in one fell swoop to save time at the meeting. Any commissioner can pull the item off for discussion, though.

In order to pay for the cemetery project, city staff had to recommend borrowing from another project's fund.

Staff recommends transferring $36,488 from the Bayview Park tennis pro shop project, "currently on hold pending a park redesign," wrote Janet Muccino, city project manager, in the Feb. 15 memo to the city manager's office.

"The redesign may relocate the tennis courts as well as the pro shop within the park."

The pro shop project had been budgeted at $150,000, but since it is not moving forward, Muccino said it makes sense to find the crypt building money in that fund.

Cemetery mausoleums were included in the fiscal year 2012-13 budget from the infrastructure fund at $190,000, and there is $188,712 left in the account.

The commission can award the bid to Ingram or to one of the other firms, put it out to bid again or decide not to build the crypts.

"Ingram has built mausoleums for the city in the past, the bid is balanced, and the pricing is appropriate for this type of construction," Muccino wrote.

Ingram's total bid is mostly for the "pour-in-place mausoleum," which the firm, run by Jeff Ingram, said it can build for $210,700, including labor, equipment and materials.

This year, the city plans to invest more than $600,000 in the cemetery, which is 165 years old and comprises 19 acres in the center of Old Town.

The Key West Cemetery is one of the largest historical cemeteries on the East Coast, and the final resting place for at least 75,000 souls.

Already in the works is the construction of a new sexton's house, replacing the 50-year-old, 800-square foot house with a 1¬½-story, 1,521-square foot building.

The present sexton's house lacks enough storage space for cemetery records, which are kept at a couple of city offices, City Planner Don Craig said.

City planners said the new sexton's house is a $350,000 project.

This week, city crews plan to pave the streets inside the cemetery, closing it from today through Thursday, according to city spokeswoman Alyson Crean.

During the paving, cemetery staff will be accommodating scheduled funerals, said Crean.